Springboks v Italy: Stats and facts

SOUTH AFRICA v ITALY – LOFTUS VERSFELD, PRETORIA – KO 5.10pm

Referee

Hollie Davidson (Scotland)

Test debut: 9 November, 2018 – England 57-5 USA

Tests as referee: 40 (29 women’s, 11 men’s)

• Hollie Davidson will take charge of this fixture for the first time.

• It will be the second time she referees the Springboks in a Test, having been in the middle for their 64-21 defeat of Portugal in Bloemfontein last July.

• That match made Davidson the first female referee to take charge of a Rugby Championship team in a Test match.

• She had already become the first to referee a Men’s Six Nations team when she oversaw Italy’s 38-31 victory over Portugal in June 2022, leading the first all-female match official team for a men’s international in the process.

• This will be the Scottish official’s third Test of the year, having been in the middle for Romania’s 31-14 defeat of Belgium in the Rugby Europe Men’s Championship in February and France’s 27-15 victory over Ireland in the Guinness Women’s Six Nations opener in March.

• The latter match saw her become only the third woman to referee 40 Tests after Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa) and Sara Cox (England).

• She also refereed England XV v France XV at Allianz Stadium on 21 June and will be an assistant referee for South Africa’s remaining two matches in this July window, against Italy in Gqeberha next weekend and Georgia in Nelspruit on 19 July.

• She refereed the European Rugby Challenge Cup final last month, becoming the first Scottish official to take charge of a European final since Jim Fleming controlled the Bath v Brive final in the 1998 Heineken Cup.

• Davidson has been selected as a referee for the second Women’s Rugby World Cup in succession, having also been an assistant referee in 2017.

Head-to-head

Played: 16 – South Africa leads 15-1

Points for: South Africa 764/Italy 195 (avg. score 48-12)

Highest score: South Africa 101 (101-0 on 19 June, 1999)/Italy 31 (31-62 on 8 November, 1997)

Biggest winning margin: South Africa 101 (101-0 on 19 June, 1999)/Italy 2 (20-18 on 19 November, 2016)

First met: 12 November, 1995 – South Africa 40-21 Italy – Stade Olimpico, Rome

Last met: 19 November, 2022 – South Africa 63-21 Italy – Stadio Luigi Ferraris, Genoa

Head-to-head notes

• South Africa have won their last three matches against Italy, averaging 49 points per game.

• Italy’s only victory against the Springboks was 20-18 in Florence in 2016.

• The home side had lost all 12 of their previous encounters with the Springboks, dating back to 1995, all by 16 points or more.

• Tries from Bryan Habana and Damian de Allende gave the Springboks a 12-10 half-time lead.

• But Italy, guided by Irish coach Conor O'Shea, fought back and Giovanbattista Venditti added to South African-born Dris van Schalwyk's first-half try.

• A Carlo Canna penalty with 15 minutes gave the Azzurri an historic win.

• Prop Simone Ferrari is the only player named in the current Italian squad to have played in that match but there are seven survivors from South Africa – Faf de Klerk, De Allende and Willie le Roux in the backs and Vincent Koch, Franco Mostert, Lood de Jager and Pieter-Steph du Toit in the forwards.

• The 63 points scored by South Africa in the last meeting in 2022 is the most against the Azzurri since the Springboks won by 101-0 in Durban back in 1999.

Team notes

• South Africa had their first run out of the year in Cape Town last weekend with a 54-7 win against the Barbarians.

• The home side were up 19-0 at half-time, courtesy of tries by Malcolm Marx, Cheslin Kolbe and debutant Vincent Tshituka.

• They added five more after the break, including a second for Tshituka. Jan-Hendrik Wessels, Kurt-Lee Arendse, De Jager and De Allende also got on the scoresheet.

• South Africa have won their last five home matches, including the Barbarians win, dating back to Ireland’s 25-24 win at King’s Park in July 2024.

• South Africa’s last Test was a 45-12 win against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff in November.

• It was their seventh away win in a row against European teams, equalling their best-ever run (2010-13).

• The Springboks made 15 line-breaks against Wales – the most by any team in the 15 matches of the 2024 Autumn Nations Series.

• South Africa also beat Scotland 32-15 and England 29-20 in the Autumn Nations Series to complete their first November clean sweep in 11 years.

• Prior to the European tour, South Africa clinched their second Rugby Championship title – and their first since 2019 – when they beat Argentina 48-7 in Nelspruit in September.

• The Springboks picked up 24 competition points – eight more than runners-up New Zealand – from five wins and one defeat.

• The 29-28 defeat to Los Pumas in round five was just one of two defeats in 2024, the other being the 25-24 loss to Ireland in the second Test of the July series.

• The defeat to Argentina ended their record-equalling winning run of five matches in The Rugby Championship and also saw them lose their No 1 ranking to Ireland, which they reclaimed in November.

• In the first four rounds, South Africa recorded bonus-point wins away to Australia, 33-7 in Brisbane and 30-12 in Perth, before beating New Zealand 31-27 in Johannesburg and 18-12 in Cape Town.

• In the opening round win in Brisbane, South Africa conceded three yellow cards in a match for the first time in Test rugby.

• Aphelele Fassi was sin-binned in round three against New Zealand and Jasper Wiese and Le Roux saw yellow in round four, while Kurt-Lee Arendse spent time in the sin-bin in round five, taking the Springboks’ overall tally of yellow cards to seven, the joint highest in the competition, along with New Zealand.

• South Africa won 15 scrum penalties, which is only four fewer than the rest of the teams between them.

• South Africa only conceded one scrum penalty all competition.

• South have had 99 throws in at the lineout – 10 more than the next highest team (New Zealand), with a success rate of 87% ranking them joint second.

• The Springboks had the worst goal-kicking success rate having slotted 28 of their 41 attempts (68%).

• South Africa attempted the most drop goals (four out of five) but without any success.

• The Springboks averaged the most kicks in play (28) in The Rugby Championship 2024.

• Italy warmed up for their two-Test series against the Springboks with a 73-6 win against Namibia in Windhoek last Friday.

• Fullback Jacopo Trulla led the way with a hat-trick of tries, while Leonardo Marin, Simone Gesi, Tommaso Menoncello, Alessandro Fusco, Mirco Spagnolo and Stephen Varney also crossed.

• Italy’s win was bookended by two penalty tries.

• Giacomo Da Re kicked six conversions and Varney added a seventh.

• It was Italy’s first Test on Africa soil since they lost 44-10 to the Springboks in Durban in 2013.

• Italy finished fifth in the 2025 Guinness Men’s Six Nations standings after only winning one game, 22-15 at home to Wales in round two.

• The Azzurri had kicked off the tournament on the wrong foot for the 12th year in a year row, losing 31-19 to Scotland at Murrayfield in their opening fixture.

• Italy then finished the championship with three straight defeats: 73-24 v France at home, 47-24 v England away and 22-17 v Ireland at home.

• Italy conceded 11 tries, more than in any previous Men’s Six Nations match, in the defeat to France.

• Italy had the lowest possession share (just 43%) in the championship and were forced to do a lot of defending, making a tournament-high 191.2 tackles per match.

• Italy’s tackle completion rate of 76% was the lowest in the competition.

• Italy were the joint lowest try-scorers with 10, along with Wales and conceded the most tries (29).

• All 10 tries were turned into seven-pointers through successful conversions.

• However, Italy missed five penalty attempts at goal – as many as the other teams combined.

• Only England (36) kicked the ball more than Italy’s average of 32 per match, a tally boosted by the Azzurri’s 50 kicks v Wales, the third-most by any team in the history of the Men’s Six Nations and beaten only by their 2009 total and the 54 Ireland amassed in a 2003 win against France.

• Italy received two of the four red cards issued in the championship in 2025: Giacomo Nicotera and Ross Vintcent, both v Ireland.

Team news

• Tshituka has been rewarded for his two-try display in last weekend’s 54-7 win over the Barbarians with his test debut for the Springboks.

• However, there is no place in the Springboks' back row for blindside Siya Kolisi, who withdrew from the squad ahead of the Barbarians match with a neck complaint.

• Tshituka will have Marco van Staden and No 8 Wiese for company in the back row.

• With Kolisi’s continued absence, Jesse Kriel will continue as captain on the occasion of his 80th Test in Springbok colours, despite the return of veteran Eben Etzebeth to the line-up.

• Kriel, who becomes the 67th person to lead South Africa in a test, is partnered in midfield De Allende.

• Damian Willemse returns to a Springbok jersey for the first time since the Rugby World Cup 2023 final after a series of injuries meant he missed the 2024 season. He will make his 40th Test appearance at fullback, flanked by wingers Arendse and Kolbe.

• The twice-capped scrumhalf Morne van den Berg has the experience of 80-Test veteran Handrè Pollard outside of him.

• The front row of Ox Uche, Marx and Wilco Louw will have De Jager and Etzebeth behind them in the second row, a partnership that hasn’t been seen together at Test level since the 35-20 defeat to New Zealand in July 2023.

• Seven of South Africa’s bench have 40 or more caps with only Wessels in single figures.

• De Klerk returns for the first time since the Ireland series in July 2024, while Le Roux is set for his 99th Test for South Africa to bring him to within touching distance of becoming the eighth Springbok centurion in history.

• Italy head coach Gonzalo Quesada has made seven changes to the starting line-up from the one that featured in the win over Namibia in Windhoek.

• The first of five changes to the pack come in the front row, where loosehead Danilo Fischetti is joined by hooker Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, who made his debut off the bench last Friday and tighthead Simone Ferrari.

• Niccolò Cannone takes on the captaincy in the absence of Nicotera, who led the Azzurri against Namibia, and is joined in the second row by new Exeter Chiefs signing, Andrea Zambonin.

• Openside Manuel Zuliani is the only player to retain his place in the back row, with Benetton teammate Alessandro Izekor coming into the team at blindside and Lorenzo Cannone at No 8.

• Italy have kept faith with their half-back partnership of Fusco and Da Re.

• Marco Zanon forms an all-Benetton midfield partnership with Menoncello after replacing the injured Leonardo Marin.

• The only change to the back three is on the right wing, where Louis Lynagh is recalled after missing the Men's Six Nations.

• Gesi and Trulla, line up on the left wing and at fullback.

• Replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff, second-row Matteo Canali and back-row David Odiase are in line for their debuts off the bench.

Coach notes

• Rassie Erasmus returned to the Springboks head coach role in February 2024, signing a contract that takes him up the end of 2027.

• Erasmus was the mastermind behind the Springboks’ back-to-back Rugby World Cup successes of 2019 and 2023 – as head coach and then director of rugby.

• His reign in charge started with a defeat to Wales in Washington DC in June 2018.

• Erasmus won 36 caps for South Africa as a back-row forward from 1997-2001.

• Gonzalo Quesada was appointed as Italy head coach in June 2023, succeeding Kieran Crowley in the role.

• He has won 44% of his games in charge (P25, W11, D1, L13).

• Quesada, who turned 51 last month, was part of the France coaching set-up between 2008 and 2011 under Marc Lièvremont, helping them to win the Men’s Six Nations Grand Slam in 2010 before reaching the Rugby World Cup final the following year.

• The Pumas legend joined Italy from French outfit Stade Français Paris, who he led to the Top 14 title in the first of his two spells in charge.

• Quesada also coached Los Jaguares to the 2019 Super Rugby final and is the first Argentinian to be a head coach in the Men’s Six Nations.

• As a player, Quesada scored 486 points in his Test career, winning 38 caps for Los Pumas.

• His Test playing record against the Springboks was P4, L4 with two defeats coming in South Africa (49-29 in June 2002 and 26-25 in June 2003).

South Africa starting XV: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel (capt), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse; 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Morne van den Berg; 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marco van Staden; 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth; 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Franco Mostert, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.

Italy starting XV: 15 15 Jacopo Trulla, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Tommaso Menoncello, 12 Marco Zanon, 11 Simone Gesi; 10 Giacomo Da Re, 9 Alessandro Fusco; 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Manuel Zuliani, 6 Alessandro Izekor; 5 Andrea Zambonin, 4 Niccolò Cannone (capt); 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, 1 Danilo Fischetti. Replacements: 16 Pablo Dimcheff, 17 Mirco Spagnolo, 18 Muhamed Hasa, 19 Matteo Canali, 20 Ross Vintcent, 21 David Odiase, 22 Alessandro Garbisi, 23 Giulio Bertaccini.